River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-06-23
COLORADO "REMINISCENCES.

| Platte River. MIR. Colby, the Sherln OF
Arapahoe County, had come down to
Chuf7s ranch in search Of jurors, and,
seeing party of Eastern tourists camp
ing near by, had walked over to make
our acquaintance. tie was so fresh and
breezy, and. withal, so genial and gem
tlemanly, he had such an air of being
master of the situation and himself that
we were all of US glad when he accept
ed our eommissaIy's invitation to re-
main and sup with us.
After tea we gaily assembled around
the roaring camp fire, and for awhile
wit and laughter winged the happy
time. But, as the twilight deepened,
the gusty talk blew over, silence fell up
on us with the night. Our shepherd,
for once unmindful of the tender lambs
he had led forth into the wilderness,
was sitting astride a wagon tongue,
pensively greasing his boots. The COM
missary had folded the plap of Colorado,
and, dumb as door nail, had slid him
self down from the bumpy log. on which
he had been for some time q restless
sufferer. Even Philomel, the soul and
genius of our party, had, for season,
turned the key upon wit and song.
Gracefully throned on her hand-trunk,
she watched, in silence, the bright and
happy sparks that danced a carmagnole
as they rose, light-footed from the or
ange flames. All was quiet upon the
Platte; the tongues of the wagons were
not more silent than ours.
The Sheriff of Arapahoe was the first
to break the spell. 81 started in to tell
you" he said, ''the true story of Jim
while we were at supper, but struck
a snag in the shape of flapjack and
didn't get on with it,"
''It's not too late for it yet, )" said the
commiSsary.
WELL" continued Mr.. Colby,
twenty years ago l was stopping ut
Hard-up. Cal. trying to dig my fortune
out of mine there. In the town was
one-horse lawyer named Smith John
son. who was about the biggest sot in
all the diggin's round. And Smith had
a son named Jim-a red-haired. freckled-
fac, little 10-year old scamp who was
the terror of all the hen roosts and gar
dens in the town. The way won Jim's
heart was this: 1 had a water melon
patch that was, if you'll forgive the
figure, the apple of my eye. One even
ing walked forth my garden for to
view and what should | see in the mid
die of it but that skeesics, Jim, letting
into one of my water melons as lively
as mole. Up came in the rear and
gathered up Jim by the waist-band.
whereat. finding his little game was
blocked, he commenced to wriggle and
howl.
".Let me CO. said he. Il won't
come here no more. Please let me go,
Mr.. Colby
"'Oh. you young scamp said l..
I've got YOU now and think I'll keep
YOU. | find it's very safe to punish
these bad boys that are so ready to be
good when they're caught. Do you
know what I'm going to do with you?'
said giving him final shake and set
ting him up on his pins. I'm going
TO send you to Jail.
".Oh. please, Mr.. Colby, give me a
whippin' an let me 60
..'No, / haven't any right to whip
YOU, but I'm obliged by the law to send
you to Jail, and l can tell you Jail is
an awful place. There's rats there'
"'Oh-o,' groaned Jim.
land sometimes in the night, they
gnaw off your toes.
.Please, Mr. Colby whined Jim.
".And your nose, said |, and you
have to go to bed without any candle,
and you can't play poker, and they do
say that the ghosts of the people that
were there before and got hung for
stealing watermelons, come back at
midnight and make a dreadful noise.
Oh. can tell you it's no fun to go
to jail
.Well! after | had chaffed the little
scamp long enough, gave him SER
mon on the moral law and let him 60
with nothing worse than fright but, af-
ter that, strange to say, Jim and were
cheek by jowl.
"Some time after the watermelon
} fracas,' continued Mr.. Colby, Il was
going up the gulch to Shooptown when
saw, on the side of the hill, the
tracks of the Vigilance Committee.
They were three road agents that had
been tried and hung the day before and
left suspended from the branch of q
tree to strike terror into the hearts Of
! of evil doors. Well, there was n moi
: of bows round this monument of JUS
= tice and they were diverting themselves
: with running down hill and swinging
: the luckless road agents to the breeze
! Jim was just receiving the cheers oftht
: crowd for sending his man up to the
! branches. where he had lodged min.
2 ute before he came down, when hespieC
I me in the road and came to meet me.
5 Eyer see, Mr.. Colby he began, il
a rather deprecatory voice, i didn'
L see no use in them three loafin
4 on that branch without bein' any,,use IL
| themselves nor nobody else so just so
: them up in business, And no wI'y'
come down to ask whether you've saw
an old whiskey barrel on legs abou
here"
"a whiskey barrel?' said 1. WHY
no. Jim, what do you mean?'
4 Oh, l mean the old one of course
He's getting most uncommon bad late
ly.'
JIM said !, did you never heal
about honoring your father?'
J Honor that old sardine! He
!. he! Really an actually now that's ;
= good, un. You'd have sommersetteC
out O yer skin to have seen that OLD
coon last night. l come home, goin
:, on to IL when he heered sOmethin
ratlin, round an he riz up and whel
! he seen me one leg out and one leg in
: he says, says he. Jim, whar've yol
been?' I'M / says, says |, I've beer
down to the Silver Tooth
- Then says he, ''an what wa
Won doin thar?N
was playin' a little game of poker,
says l.
a. Did you make anythin,' Jim,
says he.
!" Yes, sir. says l, i won $lS.
| ..Tban thara counp a hirr tbavv in hi